Punjab Leads Nation in Agriculture Infrastructure Fund Projects

When it comes to promoting the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) in the state, the government that is led by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann has continuously showed remarkable performance. It has been several months in a row that the state has retained its position as the most prominent state in India, with the biggest number of projects that have been approved under the AIF financing program. This information was provided by S. Chetan Singh Jouramajra, who is the Minister of Horticulture, here today.

An extraordinary turn of events was reported by the Cabinet Minister, who stated that nine out of the top ten districts in the country are located in the province of Punjab. An amazing total of 14199 projects aimed at improving the lives of farmers have been approved by the administrative body of Punjab. As a result of this accomplishment, Punjab has not only strengthened its position as a leading contender in the AIF Scheme, but it has also demonstrated the state's advanced agricultural ecosystem and the development that has been made in post-harvest management infrastructure.

One of the top ten districts that approved the most number of projects is Chattrapati Sambhajinagar, which was formerly known as Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra. This district has a total of 1,828 projects. There are still districts that are part of the province of Punjab. These districts include Bathinda, which has 1575 projects, Ludhiana, which has 1464 projects, Patiala, which has 1440 projects, Sangrur, which has 1439 projects, Fazilka, which has 1367 projects, Sri Muktsar Sahib, which has 1100 projects, Ferozepur, which has 758 projects, Mansa, which has 723 projects, and Moga, which has 681 projects.

S. Chetan Singh Jouramajra, while providing further elaboration, stated that these 14199 projects represent a tremendous investment of Rs. 5938 crores by the farmers and agri-entrepreneurs of the state of Punjab. The AIF Scheme facilitates a wide array of post-harvest management activities, including: primary processing (atta chakki, oil expeller, spice processing, milling etc.), storage facilities (warehouses, cold stores, silos etc.), custom hiring centers (minimum of 4 implements), sorting and grading units, seed processing units, organic input production, crop residue management systems, compressed biogas plants, solar pumps, ripening chambers etc. A further benefit of the program is that it makes it possible to finance solar panels for qualified infrastructure that already exists.

As a result of the establishment of a specialized Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) in accordance with the rules of the plan, the Cabinet Minister brought attention to the fact that the Department of Horticulture is currently acting as the State Nodal Agency (SNA) for the AIF in the province of Punjab. The establishment of a WhatsApp helpline (90560-92906) and the dissemination of regular information across various social media platforms are both measures taken to improve accessibility.

Specifically, he stated that the impressive rankings were a reflection of the strong collaboration that existed between the SNA, PMU, and the many participants. Notably, the bankers in the state have demonstrated exceptional proactivity in promoting and sanctioning AIF initiatives. As a result, they have made it simpler for farmers and agri-entrepreneurs to gain access to financial support, and they have also established post-harvest management programs.

Mrs. Shailender Kaur, who is the Director of Horticulture and the State Nodal Officer for the AIF, made the announcement that beneficiaries of the AIF Scheme are eligible to receive a 3% interest subvention on term loans of up to Rs. 2 crores for a period of seven years. It is possible to get an effective interest rate of 6% or lower while the maximum interest rate is set at 9%. The CGTMSE Scheme allows for the combination of these benefits with any and all state and central subsidies, and projects that meet the requirements can get benefits from the scheme.

A golden opportunity for Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) to create community infrastructure in the state was brought to the attention of the audience by her. PACS is able to gain access to loans at an effective interest rate of 1% thanks to the combination of the AIF and the PACS as MSC plan conducted by NABARD.